MGO One Seven LLC Purchases 1,069 Shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC)

MGO One Seven LLC raised its holdings in shares of Northrop Grumman Co. (NYSE:NOC - Free Report) by 29.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,651 shares of the aerospace company's stock after buying an additional 1,069 shares during the period. MGO One Seven LLC's holdings in Northrop Grumman were worth $2,183,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NOC. Whipplewood Advisors LLC bought a new position in Northrop Grumman during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Northrop Grumman in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Northrop Grumman by 291.7% during the 4th quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 94 shares of the aerospace company's stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 83.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Northrop Grumman Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NOC stock traded up $10.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $473.38. 1,329,267 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 885,333. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96. The stock has a market cap of $68.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.70, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.20. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $491.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $489.69. Northrop Grumman Co. has a 12-month low of $418.60 and a 12-month high of $555.57.

Northrop Grumman (NYSE:NOC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 22nd. The aerospace company reported $6.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $6.33 by ($0.27). Northrop Grumman had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 26.24%. The company had revenue of $9.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.07 billion. On average, analysts expect that Northrop Grumman Co. will post 28.05 EPS for the current year.

Northrop Grumman Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $2.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $8.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Northrop Grumman's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on NOC. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Northrop Grumman from $583.00 to $571.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Barclays cut their target price on Northrop Grumman from $550.00 to $500.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Northrop Grumman from $587.00 to $591.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Northrop Grumman from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $424.00 to $521.00 in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Northrop Grumman from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $545.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Kathy J. Warden sold 3,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $475.65, for a total transaction of $1,783,687.50. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 212,852 shares of the company's stock, valued at $101,243,053.80. This represents a 1.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Benjamin R. Davies sold 192 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $429.08, for a total value of $82,383.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 709 shares in the company, valued at $304,217.72. This trade represents a 21.31 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,505 shares of company stock valued at $2,127,182. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

About Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Corporation operates as an aerospace and defense technology company in the United States, Asia/Pacific, Europe, and internationally. The company's Aeronautics Systems segment designs, develops, manufactures, integrates, and sustains aircraft systems. This segment also offers unmanned autonomous aircraft systems, including high-altitude long-endurance strategic ISR systems and vertical take-off and landing tactical ISR systems; and strategic long-range strike aircraft, tactical fighter and air dominance aircraft, and airborne battle management and command and control systems.